Wednesday sat at a bench on the third platform of a train station. Her hands were riddled by the chilling air and her ankles by the aggressive breezes as trains passed by. It was cold that night, really cold- Enid had warned her before she left that she should 'Make sure to wear a thick coat and a pair of woolly cloves to make sure you don't get too cold!' Of course, Wednesday didn't listen, she rarely ever did. She sighed as she pulled her hands into the sleeves of her loosely knitted sweater in the attempts to stave off the biting chills.
The cold brick pillars and walls dripped in late night dew while moss grew in abundance, being the only sparks of colour other than dull brown. The only sounds that separated the wind from the silence was that of cawing birds that seemed to have nested in the lean-to roofing above her head and the distant sound of metal wheels on metal tracks as trains get closer to the station.
There was no one around either- If she had never noticed the odd few passengers getting on their trains, she would have assumed that the station had closed all together. Not even the trains seemed to want to be there as the majority of them passed right by the platforms and never stopped. Life seemed to be passing by so fast and yet in a way, it didn't seem to be moving at all.
She had no idea where she was going, she didn't care- she just needed a break. She needed a sense of adventure. Her second year at Nevermore had been far more mundane than the first. No near death experiences, no dates with deranged boys, no unsettling feeling or fear or danger around the corner. None of it was there. So Wednesday had decided to take matters into her own hands. She would disappear for a few days- buy a random train ticket- see where it would take her and just... move on from there for a while. It sounded perfect. A chance to be alone again- if only for a short while.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a boy sit on the opposing side of the bench as her. She sighed- able to see the cloud of condensated mist as she did so. She couldn't understand why someone would sit on the same bench as her when all of the other benches were free.
Wednesday turned her head a little so she could get a side-eye look at the figure. Her brow raised. He had crossed one leg on top of the other and had half of his face buried in a thick scarf. He seemed completely unaware of her presence as he held a book in his hands. He had dark, heavy bags under his eyes- like he hadn't slept in a while. She wondered why. Perhaps he just had school work to do and had spent the last few nights doing it. Maybe he had been kicked out of his home and had been sleeping on the streets- although he didn't look dirty enough for that to have been the case. Or maybe he was experiencing what she was. She could hear the faint rhythmic beats of music that came from the headphones that hung loose around his neck and rested on top of his scarf.
The second his head seemed to lift up, she darted her head away and looked on as another train passed- bringing yet another onslaught of cold air her way. She drew her legs closer as to try and retain her body heat. Her dark eyes gazed up at the hanging electronic board as she read the train times as the changed minuet by minuet. She still had twenty minutes until her train arrived.
That was when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. With a blank expression, she turned to see the boy had tapped her with the corner of his book. She got a good look at the title as she turned to face him that read 'No Longer Human.' She had read it before, a short novella but one she enjoyed. Her bleak expression softened a little at this and she looked at the boy himself. Looking at him properly, she could see that he didn't look all that much older than her- maybe a year or less. She also caught sight a small cut under his eye that appeared to have recently scabbed over.
"Here. Your hands are as pale as snow." He spoke as he reached out with his other hand, offering a pair of black gloves. His voice was soft and warm, like a honey tea. His eyes looked down at her sleeve covered arms before back up to her face. "I can't turn the pages with them on," He told her as he shook the hand holding the book, signalling to it. "You might as well wear them."
She didn't offer much in the way of a smile or a thanks- instead she gave a nod of her hand before gently taking the gloves and allowing her hands to escape the now scrunched up ends of her sweater. Wednesday put the gloved onto her hands and observed how loose they were on her. Despite the poor fit, she could feel the warmth settling into her skin already.
She faced ahead as another train whizzed past. The breeze was far more tolerable this time, her numb fingers felt no repercussion of her own ignorance. Once the train had passed far enough to not be too loud, she spoke, "How are you finding the book?"
The boy didn't answer for a moment, as if he hadn't realised that anyone was speaking to him. "It's interesting. I didn't think I would like it at first but... I guess life is full of surprises." He answered. He too didn't look away from what was in front of him as he continued reading. "Have you read it?" He asked. He felt the selfish need to keep the conversation going.
"Yes, a couple of times." Wednesday answered.
"Does it have a happy ending?" He asked in response. She could hear him shuffle in his seat as he sat up and planted both of his feet on the floor.
She raised a brow at his question. "Wouldn't that ruin it?" She questioned as she turned her head to look at him, only to find that he was already looking at her.
He seemed nervous as he laughed, his chin buried further into his scarf. "Yeah, I guess it would, wouldn't it?" He spoke rhetorically. "It just makes me feel so..."
"Uneasy." Wednesday finished for him. He responded with a nod. "What does it matter if it has a happy ending or not, it's not real." She added coldly and with a slight shrug. She took note of the somewhat dejected appearance on his features and sighed. "The ending is actually a bit of a downer. Yozo is just as unhappy at the end as he was at the start." She told him, truthfully. The boy seemed to hum in amusement at her answer as he closed the book and put it in the rucksack that sat between his legs. Wednesday's brows furrowed as she watched him. "You've already read it before, haven't you?" She asked.
"Yep." The boy answered simply with a small smile pulling at his slightly blue lips.
"Then why did you want to know how it ended?" Wednesday asked, perplexed.
He pursed his lips in thought before taking a deep breath through his nose. "I guess I was curious how someone else interpreted the ending." He answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
Wednesday cocked her head as she narrowed her eyes. "And you interpreted it differently?"
He nodded his head and leant back on the bench so that he was slightly slouched. "What's your name?"
She ran her tongue over the inside of her lips as she hesitated. "Wednesday."
He seemed surprised at her answer- then again, most people were. "Wednesday?" He repeated. "You have an interesting name." He told her. He found it only fair that he tell her his name too. "I'm, Y/N" He added, to which Wednesday just seemed to nod. "So... Where are you heading?"
"That is none of your business." She replied bluntly. Wednesday was unsure of Y/N- why would anyone else be interested in what she was doing. Then again, she had just asked how he was enjoying his book. Her eyes flickered at him, seeing he looked a little offended. She looked down at her hands and sighed once more, again, a steamy mess appeared. "Locust Valley." She answered. She had seen images online via her phone of the area. She thought it was pretty- a nice change of scenery from Jericho. "I am sorry, I have been... A little on edge recently. I apologize if I offended you."
Y/N shook his head and smiled once more. "Don't worry about it." He assured her.
"What about you, where are you going?" Wednesday asked. Why shouldn't she be nice to him- he was being nice to her. Something about him drew her in, even if in her mind she wanted to get away.
"Atlantic City." Y/N answered. "My parents kicked me out and grandpa has a house at the bay. I'm going to stay there for a while." He explained.
One of her theories had been correct- almost. His parents had kicked him out, which explained the bags under his eyes. "That's... Awful. Why would they do that?" Wednesday questioned. She was curious. She needed to know more.
"I... I have abilities. Y'know." Y/N spoke quietly. He seemed ashamed.
"I do know, yes." She told him. His head appeared to perk up in surprise. "What kind of abilities?" She pushed further.
Y/N seemed hesitant to tell her so instead he showed her. He reached out his hand and he concentrated hard. A black spot appeared a few inches obove his hand. The harder he concentrated, the more defined the shape of the orb became as it grew and changed shape. A number of black flower petals blossomed and made a flowered bulb and then a stem of vibrant green grew bellow- all thorny and sharp. He took a deep breath and relaxed, the flower dropped into his palm. He handed it to her. "I guess my parents were just... Scared."
She opened her hands to recurrence it and inspected it close. She wouldn't have guessed that he had just created it out of thin air, it was just too beautiful. She gently rubbed a petal between her forefinger and thumb. It was soft and nearly oily. "Impressive." She commented.
"Thanks." Y/N spoke with a gleaming smile. "I'm not to great at it yet though." He added quickly. It seemed that as soon as he stopped focusing on the object created, it turned to ash in Wednesday's hand. "What about you? What can you do?"
Wednesday shook off her hand and the ashy mess left behind. "I'm a seer. I have visions." She explained.
"Of the future of the past?" He asked, his face full of awe.
"Both." She replied. "Although... They are only ever dark visions."
Y/N shrugged his shoulders. "I still think that it's pretty cool." He told her. Wednesday noticed his eyes shoot up to the electronic board just as another train came along. This one stopped. "This is me. It was a pleasure to meet you Wednesday." He told her as he pulled his bag into his shoulders. He approached the train.
"Wait- your gloves." She called after him, beginning to pull one off her hand.
"Keep them!" He shouted as he boarded through the opening doors.
A rush came over Wednesday. A rush she hadn't felt since last year. It made her heart pound as she was faced with a fork in the metaphorical road. Her mind raced. It was Adventure- and it was screaming at her to take it by the pigtails. She sprung to her feet and ran to the train. Before the doors had a chance to close for the last time, she boarded. This wasn't her train but she didn't care. She would buy another ticket if she had to.
She stood onboard as the train shifted beneath them. Unprepared for the sudden movement, Wednesday stumbled. She was falling to the ground before an arm moved around her waist. Wide eyed, she was pulled upright to find Y/N had caught her.
"Aren't you on the wrong train- this one doesn't stop off at Locust Valley." He pointed out as he settled his hand around a handle.
"Would you mind if I stayed with you for a while?" She asked. Her voice was timid and seemingly embarrassed.
Her tone shocked Y/N- in the short time she had talked to him, she had been quite cold. A smile was brought to his face. "Sure."